1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a dual-axis circuit board, and more particularly to a flexible dual-axis circuit board with multidirectional motility.
2. Description of Related Art
People use numerous kinds of portable electronic devices in their daily lives, such as pagers, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and pocket PCs. People find these devices so convenient that manufacturers make every endeavor to design more user-friendly products in order to meet consumer demand.
One major improvement was the design of a foldable device. This design has two advantages. First, it increases the amount of information that can be displayed at a time because the size of the screen can be increased. Second, the operation interface can contain more functions because the size of the interface can be increased. The device comprises three main parts: an upper cover, a body, and a hinge. In general, this kind of foldable structure can be opened and closed in only one direction, which limits practical use. Furthermore, the screen, in order to match the cover and body, must be shaped like a rectangle and oriented in only one direction, which is not convenient for users to read documents and websites that are oriented otherwise.
The new designs can accommodate different operating modes. The upper cover can open and close along two orthogonal directions selectively, making the screen disposed in either portrait or landscape mode to fit the visual demand. In this kind of foldable device, electronic signal transmission necessitates a dual-axis circuit board. The dual-axis circuit board could be a dual-axis cable, too.
A kind of known flexible circuit board could be assembled with a two-dimensional dual-axis hinge. The flexible circuit board, extended from the upper cover or the body of the foldable device and its end, circles one side of the hinge and then connects with the circuit board in the body or the upper cover of the foldable device.
However the known structure has some disadvantages:
1. This kind of two-dimensional dual-axis hinge must be applied in a foldable device that has a raised base or an indentation. This application degrades the appearance and value of electronic products, making them look cheap, and also affects the convenience of input as it interferes with handling postures.
2. The manner in which the flexible circuit board circles the hinge reduces the durability of the flexible circuit board. After frequent operation, the transmitting components of the flexible circuit board become fragile.
3. This kind of flexible circuit board is an extension of the circuit board of the upper cover or the body. If the flexible circuit board is damaged, the time and material costs of repairing are very high.